Woodworker Andrew Klein came up with an idea for a way to make four cuts in a piece of plywood, spread glue in the cuts, and then fold the piece into a four-sided drawer. Those four cuts produce the eight stepped miter joints used to join the sides to each other and to the bottom.
The system relies on the use of a specially designed molding head paired with standard stacking dado blades. The thicker the stock the wider the dado stack.
Although the joint doesn’t lock, it somewhat resembles the kind of locking miter joints that can be produced with specialized shaper and router bits. What’s different here is Klein’s device does not require you to cut one side of the joint on edge and the other on the flat; it’s a single setup with half the number of cuts and no need to deal with multiple pieces. One piece of plywood = one drawer.
It’s a clever system that currently exists only in prototype. Klein has applied for a patent and is in the process of trying to license the design to a company that will make and market the product. Given the simplicity and elegance of the cutter, it’s hard to believe it won’t someday be available for purchase.
You can see how it works in the video below.
